Rhaune Laslett
Encyclopedia
Rhaune Laslett was a community activist and the principal organiser of the Notting Hill
Fayre or Festival
, that evolved into the Notting Hill Carnival
.
She set up the 'Children's Play Group' at 34 Tavistock Crescent which was visited on May 15, 1966 by Muhammed Ali prior to his fight against Henry Cooper
.
She became president of the London Free School
, a coalition of local activists, including some emerging underground
artists of the area, particularly John 'Hoppy' Hopkins
. John Michell
and Michael X
provided 26 Powis Terrace as a base and the idea of a free festival which became the Notting Hill Carnival
was born.
In a series of articles to newspaper correspondents and in The Grove magazine, Rhuane outlined the aims of the carnival – that the various culture groups of Notting Hill become more familiar with each other's customs, to bring more colour and life to the streets and to counter the perception of the area being a run-down slum. As she stated to The Grove, “We felt that although West Indians, Africans, Irish and many other nationalities all live in a very congested area, there is very little communication between us. If we can infect them with a desire to participate then this can only have good results.”
Out of the new-found energy in and around the Free School, and George Clarks work to establish the Community Workshop, Rhaune established the Notting Hill Neighbourhood Service. One of the first voluntary services to offer free legal and drugs advice as well as an all-round welfare service. The work of the service is featured in a chapter of the book 'Drop Out' by Robin Farquharson
.
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
Fayre or Festival
Free festival
Free festivals are a combination of music, arts and cultural activities for which, often, no admission is charged, but involvement is preferred. They are identifiable by being multi-day events connected by a camping community without centralised control. The Free festival movement being the...
, that evolved into the Notting Hill Carnival
Notting Hill Carnival
The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which since 1964 has taken place on the streets of Notting Hill, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea , London, UK each August, over two days...
.
She set up the 'Children's Play Group' at 34 Tavistock Crescent which was visited on May 15, 1966 by Muhammed Ali prior to his fight against Henry Cooper
Henry Cooper
Henry Cooper may refer to:*Sir Henry Cooper , British Heavyweight boxer*Henry Cooper from Tennessee*Henry Cooper , English recipient of the Victoria Cross...
.
She became president of the London Free School
London Free School
The London Free School was founded 8 March 1966 principally by John 'Hoppy' Hopkins and Rhaune Laslett.The London Free School was a community action adult education project inspired by American free universities...
, a coalition of local activists, including some emerging underground
UK underground
The Underground was a countercultural movement in the United Kingdom linked to the underground culture in the United States and associated with the hippie phenomenon. Its primary focus was around Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill in London...
artists of the area, particularly John 'Hoppy' Hopkins
John Hopkins (political activist)
John "Hoppy" Hopkins is a British photographer, journalist, researcher and political activist, and "one of the best-known underground figures of Swinging London" in the late 1960s.-Life:...
. John Michell
John Michell
John Michell was an English natural philosopher and geologist whose work spanned a wide range of subjects from astronomy to geology, optics, and gravitation. He was both a theorist and an experimenter....
and Michael X
Michael X
Michael X , born Michael de Freitas in Trinidad and Tobago to a Portuguese father and a Bajan-born mother, was a self-styled black revolutionary and civil rights activist in 1960s London. He was also known as Michael Abdul Malik and Abdul Malik...
provided 26 Powis Terrace as a base and the idea of a free festival which became the Notting Hill Carnival
Notting Hill Carnival
The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which since 1964 has taken place on the streets of Notting Hill, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea , London, UK each August, over two days...
was born.
In a series of articles to newspaper correspondents and in The Grove magazine, Rhuane outlined the aims of the carnival – that the various culture groups of Notting Hill become more familiar with each other's customs, to bring more colour and life to the streets and to counter the perception of the area being a run-down slum. As she stated to The Grove, “We felt that although West Indians, Africans, Irish and many other nationalities all live in a very congested area, there is very little communication between us. If we can infect them with a desire to participate then this can only have good results.”
Out of the new-found energy in and around the Free School, and George Clarks work to establish the Community Workshop, Rhaune established the Notting Hill Neighbourhood Service. One of the first voluntary services to offer free legal and drugs advice as well as an all-round welfare service. The work of the service is featured in a chapter of the book 'Drop Out' by Robin Farquharson
Robin Farquharson
Reginald "Robin" Farquharson was an academic whose interest in mathematics and politics led him to work on game theory, which he wrote an influential analysis of voting systems in his doctoral thesis, later published as Theory of Voting.Farquharson diagnosed himself as suffering from bipolar...
.